As the nation-wide pushback against the often cloaked Agenda 21 Policies mount, could Mayor Bramson's pet project be derailed as the truth behind the curtain becomes revealed? You've read the stories on this site about the manipulation and co-opting to lead people to believe they've invented the green movement. The insertion of outside forces to determine what's best for New Rochelle rather than planning from within. The mayor making assertions that anyone that doesn't go along with "his" idea" is of the conspiracy theory, black helicopter crowd. Well, it must be something in the water. We've shown how other communities, after seeing the light, have decided to cut ties with Agenda 21 manipulations after the true costs have come to light. If you were lucky enough to see the New Rochelle process in action, then perhaps this sounds familiar

The New York-Connecticut Sustainable Communities Consortium will host the seventh in a series of town hall meetings on February 15th in Mount Vernon, New York to seek public input for a three-year effort to improve jobs, housing, transportation and the environment. The meeting will focus on the needs and priorities of connecting the lower Hudson Valley cities of Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle.
The Town Hall will feature Hon. Ernest D. Davis, Mayor of Mount Vernon, Hon. Noam Bramson,
Mayor of New Rochelle, and the Hon. Michael Spano, Mayor of Yonkers (invited) who will speak to issues of land use and transportation in southern Westchester County, along with local and regional planning experts.

The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting also will look at how the consortium is working to expand job and housing opportunities; ways that these southern Westchester County cities – together with a wide range of public, private and local community partners – are participating in this effort; how to obtain preferred status for federal grant applications; and opportunities to get involved in planning for the region.

I was asked to give a presentation on the above topic to the Reform Club tonight about 830 PM at the American Legion Post 8. I believe that this subject matter is little understood in New Rochelle and that GreeNR was passed by CIty Council without educating the public on the far-reaching implications of the City's decision to "partner" with ICLEI. I believe that properly understood, this partnership is the most significant change in New Rochelle since the City was incorporated in 1899.

I will make a slide presentation of about 20 minutes with handouts and then hold a Q&A for about 10 minutes after. I will then stick around for anyone who has additional questions.

Having put a good deal of time into the research for this presentation I am hoping to give it more than once. Towards that end, it is my hope that representatives from various neighborhood associations and civic groups might attend and evaluate the presentation with an eye towards inviting me to make the presentation to other organizations in New Rochelle.

Material for the presentation will be drawn, in part, from the following series in ICLEI:

All About ICLEI: Part I

All About ICLEI: Part II

All About ICLEI: Part III

All About ICLEI: Part IV

All About ICLEI: Part V

All About ICLEI: Part VI

All About ICLEI: Part VII

Christopher B. Leinberger has an excellent Op-Ed in the New York Times today.

Op-Ed Contributor: The Death of the Fringe Suburb

While there are politicians in New Rochelle who continue to use the GreeNR plan to push for apartments in the area of the train station, his article shows this is a misguided emphasis. We must invest in transportation improvements first, housing later.

The cities and inner-ring suburbs that will be the foundation of the recovery require significant investment at a time of government retrenchment. Bus and light-rail systems, bike lanes and pedestrian improvements — what traffic engineers dismissively call “alternative transportation” — are vital.